Making it easier to request European research subsidies

MEP Anneleen Van Bossuyt wants to make Horizon 2020, the European subsidy programme for research and innovation, easier for businesses. She has drawn up a ten-point plan to this end. The idea is to encourage Flemish companies to make more use of this programme. “Today this happens far too infrequently,” Anneleen Van Bossuyt says with regret. “The successful Flemish innovation policy makes our companies less inclined to request European subsidies. All too often they also have to endure a painful administrative process to do so.”

“While many Member States are cutting back on research and innovation, Flanders is doing the exact opposite by investing more,” notes Anneleen Van Bossuyt. But that is not the only reason why the Flemish subsidy programmes are more appealing than the European ones: “Unfortunately, participants in European projects still face a deluge of administrative red tape, including a super-intricate accounting system and a complicated registration procedure to name but two. Furthermore, only ten percent of all participants actually get their hands on any money,” says Anneleen Van Bossuyt, who involved the Flemish business world actively in her initiative to adjust Horizon 2020.

Ten-point plan

To bring an end to the many missed opportunities, Anneleen Van Bossuyt has proposed ten specific recommendations to Carlos Moedas, the European Commissioner for Research, Science and Innovation. Among other things it involves less red tape, a bigger budget and a stricter selection in order to increase the chance of success at the end of the day.

You can find Anneleen Van Bossuyt’s complete ten-point plan here.